Crash
by redheadedsweetheart
Summary: They broke up a long time ago. A chance meeting on a busy city bus brings them back together. Three part one shot for StephNexus
1. Chapter 1

Could it really be him? It couldn't be. He didn't look the same. Where was his long hair? The Phil I knew never would have cut his hair for anything. My eyes wandered down to his arms, covered in tattoos; that was the Phil I knew, I thought with a small smile on my face. I looked one last time and quickly looked away as he looked up from his book and almost caught my eye. I quickly put the newspaper up to my face to avoid meeting his eyes. But I saw them. I saw those hazel eyes that were always able to burn a hole through me, right into my soul. I would know those eyes anywhere. Those eyes made me weak in the knees with desire when they had been filled with lust; they made my heart ache when they looked at me when they had been filled with anger or disappointment. It was him.

What was he doing here? How completely random of him to be here right now; what on earth would he be doing in this city? He had always told me over and over again that he would never leave Chicago. Of course I knew why he might be in town; I had followed his career ever since he left me that one rainy night. I watched him struggle through the independent circuit, watched him gain a following in Ring of Honor and watched him take the WWE by storm. What I didn't know was if he ever thought of me? Did he ever think of us and what we had had?

_**Wait, where you say you've been? Who you been with? Where you say you're goin'? Who you goin' with?**_

What would he say to me right now if he knew I was sitting across from him on a crowded city bus? Would he pretend to not know who I was and treat me like just another crazy fan girl who wants him for all of the wrong reasons? Or would he smile that sexy smirk at me and turn me into Jell-O? He knew that he always had that effect on me; it made him feel powerful. Would he even want to see me again? I brushed a piece of hair out of my eyes and went back to secretly staring at him.

Memories of us flashed through my mind, taking me back to a happier time. Would I ever have a chance at happiness like that ever again? Or did Phil ruin me for all other men? It was a long time ago; at least fifteen or sixteen years by now since he broke my poor little teenage heart into a million pieces. We had dated when we were 18 for a few years. I was head over heels in love with him; and I thought he had felt the same way about me. I guess I was wrong. You would think that I would have gotten over it by now. But, let me tell you, once you've been loved by Phil Brooks, something changes in you and you never get over it. Maybe it's the way he made you feel like you were the only other person in the world worth talking to. Maybe it was the way his arms snaked around your waist and held you close to him. Maybe it had been the way that you felt so secure in his arms while you slept next to him. Maybe it was that silly smirk or that sharp sense of humor.

I took him all in; he had been such a unique young man—bleach blonde hair, piercings and an attitude. He had grown into a drop dead gorgeous man. Even sitting this far away from him, and not seeing him for so long, I still wanted him. I wanted him right now. I wanted to strut over to him, take the book from his hand and straddle his hips just like I had done so many times before, take his face in my hands and cover his sweet mouth with my own. I must have stared too long. He looked up from his book and his eyes met mine. I couldn't look away. He had me again, right where he wanted me. I waited with bated breath to see what was going to happen next.

_**Keep me on my toes, keep me in the know.**_

There it was; that smirk. That smirk could always bring me down to my knees with desire for him. Even after all of these years, he could still do it. And I get the feeling that he still knew that even after all of these years. I waited for what he was going to do next. Was he going to further acknowledge me, was he going to ignore me, was he going to come over and actually talk to me? I was filled with such uncertainty right now that I was driving me crazy.

Our relationship flashed through my mind—the long nights we spent together just walking the streets of our hometown, sitting in my bedroom listening to music, hanging out with his friends, just being together. Why was this happening to me now? I thought I had gotten over this.

_**Wait, keep me in your skin, keep me in your chest. I'll wait for it to start, I'll wait for it to end.**_

He lifted his hand in kind of a feeble wave hello; it looked like he really wasn't sure what to do either in the case of coming face to face with me after so many years. Like an idiot, I waved back and then blushed. To try and save myself from further embarrassment, I busied myself with the newspaper again. I knew my stop was coming up soon and I was beginning to worry about what was going to happen next. Where was his stop? Would he be getting off at the same stop as me? What was I supposed to do when I passed by him? Do I need to further acknowledge his existence or do I just let it go?

I got my answer with a soft poke in the arm. I froze. Luckily I gained enough composure to put down my paper and slowly look to my left. I was greeted with those mischievous hazel eyes. I lost the ability to speak. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to ever see him in a situation like this, much less have him sitting less than a foot away from me. "Hey," he whispered with that smirk that drove me insane on his face. "Long time no see."

Like a moron, I just nodded and tried to remember to breathe. My ability to speak still hadn't come back yet.

_**Keep me on my toes, keep me in the know.**_

"Aren't you going to say anything, Steph?" he asked. I tingled in ways that only he could make me feel when he said my name so softly.

"Hey, Phil," I managed to squeak out softly. I could feel my face turning bright red and judging by the amused look on his face, he noticed my blushing too. "What…what are you doing in town?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I have a show tonight," he said nonchalantly, like it was no big deal that he was the top guy in the WWE right now. And, honestly, it wasn't a big deal; he was born for this type of work and attention. It had always been his dream. In high school, while our fellow students were making plans to go to college or to start working right away, Phil had insisted that he was going to be a professional wrestler. He said it was all he had wanted to do with his life. I tried my hardest to convince him to go to college with me; he flat out refused. I still remember him telling me that college might be a good plan for me, but it wasn't for him. And if I hadn't wanted to take the safe road and go to college, then get a job, and settle down with a family, I should just go ahead. He wasn't going down that road.

"I see…." I whispered. Thankfully this meeting of the exes would soon be over because my stop was next. I was more than prepared to simply nod a good-bye to him when my stop came and walk away from him. He had other ideas, however.

"What have you been up to these days?" he asked. I just stared at him. after everything that had happened between us—that big fight, the horrible words we said to each other, the way we screamed, the accusations flying back and forth—he was just going to ask me what I had been doing for the past fifteen years? Couldn't he start with an apology? Couldn't he say how sorry he was about everything? Why was he acting like we had just seen each other the day and that nothing had ever happened between us?

_**We were young, we were in our teens. It wasn't real love, spent behind bars. Oh it's sad to think, we just let it be. Prisoners of love.**_

"Working and such…" I mumbled like an idiot. My life was so boring compared to how his had turned out.

"Doing what?" he asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice. I knew what he was thinking, he was wondering what happened to my dream? What happened to me? Where was my dream? What had happened to me that I gave it up?

"Accounting," I said softly, knowing that this conversation and reunion was going to come to an end very quickly; my stop was next. "This is my stop," I murmured as I started to gather my stuff and stand up. I froze when I felt his hand touch my arm to stop from moving. I glanced down and saw his tattooed fingers touching my skin. Could he feel how hot my skin had just gotten from this brief contact from him?

_**It's so easy for it to be, something second guessed. Easy to read, don't let it become, a meaningless routine. It's meaningless to me.**_

"Don't go yet…." he said quietly as he looked up at me, his hazel eyes pleading with me to stay on the bus with him.

"But….this is my stop…" I started to say, confused at what was happening and beginning to wonder if this was all a daydream and not really happening.

"It's been a long time, Steph…I'd like to catch up with you…." he said as that sly smile started to appear on his handsome face.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Ok, I lied. This will be a three part story, only because I'm a little stuck on the ending. Read, review and enjoy.**

**Part II**

"I need to get off here…this is my stop…." I said softly as I moved my arm away from him.

"I'll come with you," he said simply as he stood up and waited for me to lead. "It'll be nice to catch up. I don't have to be to the arena until later tonight." He was acting like it was the normal, everyday thing to do—follow his ex-girlfriend, who hadn't spoken to in fifteen years and try to infiltrate himself into her life like nothing had ever happened. I knew that determined look in his eye; he had something to say and was intent on doing it now. I simply shrugged my shoulders and gathered my stuff and started to walk off the bus. I didn't have to look behind me to see if he was following me; I could feel him looking me up and down from behind.

I walked off the bus and stood on the curb….now what? He stood in front of me, a smile on his handsome face. He held out his arm for me to take and we started walking, neither of us talking just yet. I was on my way home; did this mean that he was following me? I didn't want him to come home with me, I had to find somewhere along the way back to my apartment to stop so we could "talk" or whatever it was that he wanted to do. As we walked, arm in arm in silence, my mind wandered back to the last time that we had seen each other. It really had to be just about fifteen or sixteen years now. But it still stings like it happened yesterday.

.

.

"_Why are you always accusing me of cheating on you, Steph?" he demanded, his hazel eyes flashing with annoyance at me right now. _

"_Because, Phil. You're gone all the time, you don't tell me where you go, who you're with—" I started to say._

"_What are you, my mother now? Last time I checked you were just my girlfriend," he shot back._

"_Just your girlfriend?" I asked as my mouth dropped in shock. We had been together for almost three years; you would think that by now we would be further along than 'just my girlfriend'._

_He shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah….my girlfriend…." he said as he looked down at his feet. Why was he avoiding looking at me right now?_

_._

_._

That scene flashed through my mind quickly, I wondered if he ever thought about that night that we screamed at each other.

We came across a little coffee shop that's about a block or two away from my apartment building. I stopped walking. "Want to go in here and talk?" I managed to stutter out, my face quickly turning a bright red. He nodded and held the door open for me and followed me inside. I found a little table way in the back. I could tell he appreciated this—because of nosy fans but also because it was give us a chance to be alone. A waitress came over and takes our order and then left us. Left us to stare awkwardly at each other and try to think of something to say.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" he asked as he wrapped his tattooed hands around his coffee cup that the waitress had just brought over.

I nodded. "Yeah it has," I said lamely, immediately chastising myself for sounding like such an idiot right now.

"Tell me what you've been up to," he said as he leaned in so he could hear me better. I brushed a piece of hair out of my eyes and bit my bottom lip. What was I supposed to tell him? "Come on, girl," he said with a chuckle. "The Steph I knew never let me get a word in edgewise and now all of the sudden the cat's got your tongue?" he said with a mischievous twinkle in his beautiful eyes.

"Not much….I went to the Illinois State, got a degree in accounting….and then went to work…." I said softly.

"I get that; you were always bound for college, I knew you were…but what I don't get is how you ended up **here**?" he said referring to the fact that I'm currently living in St. Louis. "Did you meet someone? Are you married? Tell me, girl, what have you been up to," he said playfully as he gently slapped at my hand.

"Not married…." I practically whispered. How could I get married? He ruined me for any other man. I loved him so much and he just took all of that….. "I guess I never found the right one. What about you?"

He laughed. "No, not married. I can never find anyone to put up with my shit long enough to hang around." He looked down at his hands, "No one ever put up with my shit but you, Steph. You were the one that got away….."

.

.

_I watched him crawl out of bed and look around for his jeans. He was leaving already? "Where are you going now?" I said softly as I watched him throw a t-shirt on over his head._

"_Gonna head downtown and meet up with some friends," he said distractedly as he looked around for his phone._

"_Oh," I said in a disappointed tone. "I thought maybe we could hang out tonight."_

_He let out a sigh. "I told you, Steph, I've already got plans tonight. I should have already been on my way." He came back over to the bed and leaned in for a kiss. Instead of kissing me on the mouth, he placed a quick kiss on my forehead and then he backed away from me, mumbling that he would call me later on tonight._

_I stared at the ceiling for a while until the silence was interrupted by the ringing of a phone. I looked over at the nightstand and my phone was silent. I quickly got out of bed and found the ringing phone; Phil's phone must have fallen out of his pocket. I opened it up and looked at the number calling. Who was Heidi? I debated with myself for a brief second before I hit the 'answer' button. "Hello?" I said softly, closing my eyes and biting my lip. Please let Heidi be some obscure female relative that I haven't met yet._

"_Phil?" a husky female voice said on the other end._

"_Who is this?" I asked._

"_This is Heidi….is this Phil's phone? Who is this?" she asked in a confused voice._

"_Yes, this is Phil's phone. This is Stephanie….his girlfriend," I said back in a shaky voice._

_I heard a sharp intake of breath on the other end. "His what?" _

"_His girlfriend; who are you?"_

"_Heidi…..his girlfriend….."_

_._

_._

_**But when I looked at her, I thought of only you. If only there was proof I could use to show it's true.**_

I swallowed a lump that was rising in my throat. Did he just really say that I was the 'one that got away'? Did he forget that I got away because he had cheated one me? We had spent three, almost four, years together and he threw it all away because he was feeling neglected. "Why….why would you say something like that, Phil? You remember what happened between us? Why it ended like it did?" I managed to squeak out.

"What…" he started to say and then it dawned on him what I was talking about. "That's right….I….I had forgotten….." he stuttered.

"How could you have forgotten something like that?" I asked, trying to keep my voice down. I didn't want to cause a scene, I didn't want to be here with him, I wanted to go home and away from him and the bad memories that he brought with him.

"I don't know…..It's just….so surreal seeing you after so long…I guess I forgot why we had split up in the first place."

"Was she worth it?" I blurted out.

"Was who worth it?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Heidi…" I whispered.

His face fell. "You knew about her?" he murmured.

I nodded. "Yeah, I did—"

"Is that why you left?" he asked.

.

.

"_How…how long have you been dating Phil," I asked with my eyes closed. Was this really happening? Was I really talking to the woman my boyfriend was cheating on me with right now?_

"_Almost a year….How long have you been dating him?" she asked softly._

"_Almost three years."_

"_Damn him," was all she said. "I had no idea…." she mumbled._

"_Me neither….what do we do?" I asked._

"_I don't know…..How..serious are you two?"_

"_We've been together for three years—"_

"_I mean," she interrupted me, "has he promised you anything?"_

"_Like what….." I was confused._

"_He gave me a promise ring."_

_My heart stopped beating. She continued talking. "We've only been together for a year, but he swears this is going long term. I'm not sure what to think now."_

_After a full minute of silence, I blurted out, "You can have him. I don't want to be with a man who could do this to me; who could cause me so much pain and think so little of me," my words came out in a rush before I hung up Phil's phone and tossed it back on the floor where I found it._

_._

_._

"Tell me, Phil. Was she worth it? I'm thinking she wasn't because you aren't with her anymore," I said in a bitchy tone.

"Is that why you left, Steph? Because of Heidi?"

"Of course that's why I left! One, I wasn't going to share you. Two, I wasn't going to be with someone who thought so little of my feelings."

"You didn't love me, then, did you?" he asked as he narrowed his eyes.

"Of course I loved you—"

"No, you didn't. Because if you would have loved me as much as you said you did, you wouldn't have up and left me in the middle of the night and not speak to me for fifteen years! That's a funny way to show someone that you love them, Steph," he growled at me, his hazel eyes flashing with annoyance right now.

"What was I supposed to do? Stay and stand around looking like an idiot while you cheated one me?" I started to raise my voice. I was about thirty seconds from walking out of here and leaving him again.

His head dropped. He stared at his hands for the longest time before he spoke again. "I'm sorry…." he whispered and reached his hand out to cover mine. "I know what I did was wrong….and I don't know how to fix it. It was such a long time ago….but it looks like it really stuck with you…." he said softly as he tried to get me to look at him.

I just nodded. It had hurt. A lot. Finding out that he had been cheating on me practically ruined any hope I ever had of trusting another man.

"Are you all right?"

I shook my head; the past kept flying through my mind right now and I couldn't make it stop. "I didn't mean for it to happen like this, Steph. I got so excited finally coming face to face with you again after so long….I blocked out what I had done—"

"Why did you do it? What did she give you that I wasn't?" I demanded. I was done feeling sorry for myself. I wanted answers.

"I….I…" he started to stutter. "I don't know why I did it—"

"Don't give me that crap, Phil. I talked to her. Did she ever tell you that? Did she ever tell you that I answered the phone one night when she called? Did she?"

"No, she didn't."


	3. Chapter 3

_**But when I looked at her, I thought of only you. If only there was proof I could use to show it's true.**_

"I don't even know what I can say to you to try and make this better, Steph…." he said after a long silence of us just staring at each other. The hazel eyes that I had loved so much were filled with regret and shame. Good. I hope he felt bad. Because of him I was never able to trust another man. Sure I dated here and there, but I was never ever to fully let go and let myself love anyone like I had loved him. I left the city that I loved, my family and friends, and went to pursue my 'dream'. Accounting wasn't my dream; it was boring—but it was safe. And after what I had found out about Phil, that's what I needed—safety. I hadn't intended to go into this field; I had wanted to be a writer. Those dreams, along with my dream of having a long happy life with Phil, all went down the drain after I had found out about Heidi.

"You can't make it better, Phil. It's done and it's over. You must have thought so little of me and my feelings that-" I started to say before he interrupted me.

"I'm sorry…." he whispered as his hands reached across the table and covered mine. I looked down and my heart rate sped up, a light blush started to spread across my cheeks and my breath caught. I had forgotten what it had felt like to be touched by him—even if it was something just as innocent as his hand touching mine. Electricity shot through my hand and up my arm, straight into my heart. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. I had missed him over the years…..missed him so much.

"Let's try it again…." he whispered impulsively. I just stared at him. Did he really just suggest that we try it again after not seeing each other for fifteen years? Did he lose his mind somewhere over the years?

"What are you talking about…." I finally managed to stutter out. I looked down; his hand was still covering mine, and I was still feeling those familiar sparks of electricity while his skin touched mine.

_**Just crash, fall down, I'll wrap my arms around you now. Just crash, it's our time now, to make this work second time around.**_

"Let's try it again. Me and you," he said simply as if it were obvious that we should just get back together after all of the hurt and time apart we've endured.

"You sound like a crazy man," I said.

He smirked and those hazel eyes sparkled with mischief. "Never said I was normal, Steph….You know that."

_**Just crash, fall down, I'll wrap my arms around you now. Just crash, it's our time now, to make this work second time around.**_

"Well I know that," I replied quickly. "It wouldn't work." And it wouldn't work, for real. How could it work? I live in St. Louis, he lives in Chicago. I have a boring, but secure, job at an accounting firm. He travels three quarters of the month. It would never work. I wouldn't be able to trust him. I couldn't trust him because there are all of these beautiful women out on the road that would be more than willing to bat their eyes at him, giggle at his jokes, stroke his arm and hang on his every word. How the hell would I be able to compete with that? Would he really want to come home to me? Boring, predictable Stephanie?

"Of course it could work," he said confidently. "Why wouldn't it? What have we got to lose if we were to try it again?"

"Lots of things wouldn't make it work. The fact that we don't live in the same city for one."

"Come home," he said simply as if it were really that easy.

"Can't."

"Why not," he retorted. I knew this game that he was playing; he would have a response or an answer for every excuse I would give him. I should just do the easy thing and agree with him.

_**We grew up, we worked and changed our ways. Just like wildfire, been burning now for days.**_

"Because I made myself a life here."

"You also had a life in Chicago. It wouldn't be that hard to move home. I'm sure your parents miss you."

"There's other reasons too…." I mumbled as I bit my lip and looked down at our hands. He was now holding both of my hands in his, slowly stroking my fingers with his thumb.

"What?"

"I…..I don't know…..I don't know…." I stuttered.

"Spit it out," he said softly as he briefly closed his eyes; almost as if he knew what was coming.

"I don't know if I can trust you…." I finally said. I looked up and saw those beautiful hazel eyes filled with hurt. I never wanted to hurt him. Never. I had loved him so much and it was never my intention to hurt him with my words. But it had to be said. He had to know how much he had hurt me when he had cheated on me and then I left and he never came looking for me.

_**Tearing down those walls, nothing's in our way. I said, nothing's in our way. And I know,**_

_**I've said this all before, but opposites attract.**_

"You can trust me. I've changed. I'm focused—" he started to say.

"Focused on what? Your career? The groupies and fan girls you meet on the road?" I retorted back.

"You don't know me at all—"

"You're right, Phil. I don't know you," I said softly as I removed my hand from his. "The Phil I knew, never would have cheated on me." I reached down to grab my purse, but he grabbed my hand again.

"Please don't go….Just….give me another chance," he pleaded in a voice barely above a whisper.

_**We try and run away, but end up running back.**_

I shook my head. I removed my hand from under his and started to stand up. "It's too late, it's been too long." I unzipped my purse, threw some money down on the table for my coffee and started to walk away from him. I had to leave right now if I had any chance of getting out of here with my heart still intact.

"Steph, wait!" he called after me as I headed out the door and started walking down the street, furiously wiping tears away from my cheeks.

I didn't get very far before a pair of very strong arms grabbed me around the waist and swung me around. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come out. With wild hazel eyes looking me up and down he closed his eyes for a second, bit his bottom lip, let out a breath that he had been holding in and covered his mouth with mine. I was stunned. Is he really kissing me right now? Did he think that this was going to fix everything?

_**And all I want to do, all I want to do, is lie down and...Crash, fall down.**_

Then I felt it; that spark. That warm feeling in my chest any time that he had come within ten feet of me. It was him, and it was me. It was us. His soft kiss told me more than words could say right now.

_**I'll wrap my arms around you now. Just crash, it's our time now, to make it work, second time around.**_

He pulled away from me, his breath ragged. "Is that a yes?" he whispered.

Fifteen years. I've been holding in these feelings for fifteen years. A completely random chance meeting on a random city bus brought us to this. What could I do? What could I say? I reached my hands up, cutting his face in my hands and brought my lips to his.

_**Ohhh crash, fall down. Just crash, fall down. Just crash, fall down. Just crash, fall down.**_

A foolish woman once said that once you've been loved by Phil Brooks, you're never the same. That foolish woman is a woman in love.


End file.
